Information for Social Change Journal and Historical Archives

Contents

Editorial

John Pateman

Publishing In Post Communist Times In the Former
Yugoslavia

Kathleen Ladizesky

Librarians in Opposition

Erwin Marks

Towards a Redefinition of Radical Information Work

Martyn Lowe

Fellow Travellers

A Riot To Read

Some Practical Projects

Editorial

This is the first issue of ISC since the change of government and although Labour may not be
going far enough or fast enough for some of us, at least now we have the feeling that we are
pushing against an open government door regarding some of the issues that concern ISC.
Freedom of Information, for example, is now on the political agenda. Labour will also do
more to help refugees and asylum seekers, who were the subject of our recent conference.

This summer 1997 edition of Information for Social Change kicks off with an article by
Kathleen Ladizesky on publishing in post Communist times in the Former Yugoslavia. This
paper was presented at the Information for Social Change / Link Up conference held at the
Overseas Development Institute in London on 14th June 1997. The rest of the papers from
this conference will be published in ISC 6 later this year.

Our second feature article is Librarians in Opposition by Erwin Marks. This documents the
little known story of resistance to National Socialism by library and information workers in
Nazi Germany. This article was translated into English by Mr Rustam Davar.

Our third main presentation is Martyn Lowe's attempt to redefine radical information work.
This is a timely piece, as there are moves afoot to network radical information groups
worldwide. Raimund Dehmlow has produced a Directory of Progressive Librarians Around
the World , which includes Information for Social Change.

Charles Willett, who produces Librarians at Liberty, has now edited the first issue of
Counterpoise . This includes contributions from several ISC members. ISC has also been
invited to attend a conference of radical librarians which is being organised in Washington next
year by the Social Responsibilities Round Table as part of the American Library Association
conference. Both the Directory and Counterpoise are reviewed in the A Riot to Read section
of this ISC.

ISC is also part of a wider network of progressive organisations, some of which are listed in
our Fellow Travellers section. With this issue we start a new series on the practical problems
of information work that are faced within campaigning bodies.

In between the articles you will find testimonials and reviews of ISC from organisations like
EIDOS, the Morning Star, Booksellers for Social Responsibility and the Public Library
Journal. You will also find a number of graphics produced by Martyn Lowe.

John Patemae

Publishing In Post Communist Times in the Former
Yugoslavia

(This paper was given at the Information for Social Change / Link conference, "People
Without Places", which was held at the Overseas Development Institute, London, on 14 June
1997)

Introduction

When I saw the title of this conference, "People without places", I wondered if there may be
some way to link in the dilemma of countries which had been "exiled" from their system of
government as when the Communist order collapsed in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.
It was agreed that the topic may be interesting and this paper on libraries, publication and
distribution in the Former Yugoslavia , the country which has probably seen the most upheaval
and fragmentation, is the result.

The area has long suffered political disturbances and the Serb/Croat struggles are not new.
Since the 1920's the country of Yugoslavia had existed as a monarchy which in 1945 became a
Communist Republic, headed by Tito. After his death in 1980, the country continued as one
entity until 1989. At this time five countries are in existence : Bosnia-Hercegovina, Croatia,
Macedonia, Slovenia and Yugoslavia now divided into Montenegro and Serbia which is
further delineated into Serbia proper plus the autonomous provinces of Kosova and
Vojvodina.

Problems in this area are highly complex but on a simplistic note, once the communist centre
had gone the underlying cultural and religious differences which had been kept under control
came back to the top. Many violations have taken place including damage to libraries and
publications, and enormous destruction has been seen in Sarajevo. Publication has been in a
state of disarray affecting libraries not only in the region but even the acquisition process in the
West, where librarians have also had their own problems of budgetary cuts.

This paper notes some of the problems being faced and ways which are evolving to try to
overcome them. It mentions use of present day technological advances which are taking place
at speed. Libraries not only have to come to terms with and manage the changes in the
countries which have evolved but also have to take on the whole new aspect of technology,
alongside funding problems.

Effect of war on libraries in FY

Many libraries have been irreparably damaged in the righting in Croatia and
Bosnia-Herzegovina. In particular the National & University Library in Sarejevo was
destroyed by artillery action in August 1992. The destruction has been carried out to try to
eliminate any trace of religious belief, linguistic differences and ethnic origins.

Librarians world-wide were troubled by these deliberate attacks which destroyed manuscripts
which can never he replaced. The background to this trouble was outlined in an article written
by Sava Peic (1). In several countries funds are being collected and materials donated, so that
when the troubles have eventually been resolved there will be a repository of money and stock
waiting to reconstruct as much as possible (2).

However, in August 1996 an article in the New York Times said that although lofty promises
were made for international funding to rebuild the Library together with its roads, airports and
factories the amount so far supplied falls far short of that envisioned with the signing of the
Dayton peace agreement.

Simple and practical plans are in progress within the country to restore basic library services to
the people of Sarajevo who have been intellectually and professionally starved during the
fighting. The city has lent a wing of the unused Marshall Tito army barracks in which to start
housing donated books as well as surviving materials. Finance to create on-line services, open
research facilities and create new collections is being looked for.

The more exotic idea of restoring the old library will be deferred until later and only minimal
work to ensure that the ruins do not completely disappear have been carried out. Many
people think that although these ruins have an emotive function they should be preserved as a
remembrance and the new Sarajevo library should be a modern functional building which the
whole world should help to provide (3).

In spite of the difficulty of acquisition, the British Library has collected a wide range of printed
material relating to the war in Bosnia and reflecting many different points of view. It includes
over 100 titles published in Sarajevo during the siege which are listed on Portico the British
Library website http://portico.bl.uk/. In attempting to acquire works which will provide insight
into current political, economic and cultural developments, the British Library follows in the
footsteps of their nineteenth-century predecessors who, far from wishing to create a 'museum
of the book' selected material which would provide, for their present and future readers,
insight into life in foreign countries (4).

I will now look at some of the developments in Croatia, Slovenia and Macedonia about which
there is some accurate information from our own work experiences in Slavonic Acquisitions at
BLDSC and also from a US Library Report (5).

Croatia

Agents and publishers

Changes in the Croatian book industry have severely affected agents. Since 1991,
privatisation has led to a reduction in the total number of monographs published in Croatia
each year. The bigger publishing houses have privatised, leaving only a skeleton work force.
The Soros Foundation has given monetary support for the publication of Croatian books
falling into all of the following categories : non-partisan, not pro-government, not a sure
commercial success, but likely to he read. 40% of books entered for such funding were
supported.

Previously a discount of up to 30% was given by agents but this has now narrowed to as little
as 5% or done away with altogether. Also, because a large part of the Serbo-Croatian market
has been lost due to the war, print runs on Croatian books have decreased and prices are high.

Mladost, the former state publishers and distribution agents, has undergone major changes in
the past two years, particularly in the loss of personnel, but plans are progressing for major
improvements in their operations. Mladost has now introduced PCs in the workplace and a
catalogue of new books has been produced. They supply individuals, bookstores and libraries
abroad (Sweden, Australia, Canada, USA) but search efforts, purchasing, handling, and
postage are costly for Mladost and it appears that they prefer doing wholesale business.
Mladost is not familiar with blanket orders and although they may be willing to supply items as
they are published with the option of having them returned they do not like this form of
business. One area where Mladost can still compete effectively is in subscriptions of Croatian
periodicals. Formerly Mladost published 250 titles a year but by 1994 they published less than
ten.

Books Trade and Services (BTS) was formed in 1992 with nine employees moving over from
Mladost, a point which they used in introducing their new business to possible users. BTS
hopes to provide a better and faster service and like customers to know that it is the youngest
company with the longest experience. BTS tries to maintain low prices and quick supply and
is not unwilling to carry out labour-intensive work. In 1994 the company estimated that it
then had about 40% of the book export-import market in Croatia. Where demand for certain
titles is anticipated multiple copies are purchased.

BTS exports materials to Kubon & Sagner (K & S), and as an importer it is the Croatian
National Library's main supplier of non-Croatian publications. BTS can supply libraries with
xerox copies of any book held by the Croatian National Library. They too are reluctant to
supply blanket orders and have no experience in this.

Private specialist booksellers often emerge from employment as a larger concern. One such is
the Antiquarian Bookseller Mr Nedljko Dominovi formerly employed by Matica Hrvatska.
Once established, the specialists supply the needs of other general agents. Operating on a
smaller scale, work may be carried out from home or small office with stock in various
outlying stores. Such small businessmen are interested in doing business in the West if the
possibility arises.

High quality scientific journals such as ITA, Informacija Telekomanikacije Antomati from
Zagreb, Croatia are now competing for international recognition.

Libraries

At this point a word about exchange of publications may be useful. This used to be a common
method of acquisition between libraries in the communist countries and the West which is now
being phased out for various reasons as purchase is now preferred. Problems are being
reported in the exchange programmes as institutions in Western Europe e.g. Britain, Holland
and Italy, are finding that the rising cost of publications at home make it difficult to maintain
the balance of exchange agreements as was done in the past.

The Library of the Croatian Academy of Arts and Sciences (HAZU) has a good network of
exchange agreements and little foreign material is purchased.

Although the library is keeping up with developments and is connected to the mail network,
recent budgets have fallen. Their best recent publications have been joint efforts between
HAZU and commercial publishers : HAZU lending its name to these ventures and the
publisher its money. Under these arrangemen HAZU receives 200 copies of each title.

The National and University Library (NSB) shows a different pattern to HAZU in its methods
of obtaining America and European titles. It gets only 25% on exchange and 75% is
purchased. There is evidence of a new public interest for Croatian materials and a special fund
has been established to help with exchange as a means of disseminating the books abroad.

Before 1991 NSB received 15 depository copies of each Croatian book. However the
Croatian publishers now only supply 6 deposit copies to NSB. Some publishers do not want
to supply any deposit copies.

Formerly the Library's stock was concentrated on humanities but, since independence over the
past two years as part of a centralising trend, NSB has been expected to include the natural
sciences in its acquisitions. Earlier, collecting in these subjects had been carried out by the
University's science departments. In 1994 NSB saw an increase by 30% in users. This
appears to be because the library has begun to acquire more relevant materials for users.
Recently new acquisitions lists have been sent to academic departments which must have

added to the increase in users, A new library building which was scheduled to open in 1995
has open book stacks. The Library gives credit to recent progress in the Library to the
generosity of Croatian emigres and their organisations.

Slovenia

Agents and publishers

DZS is one of the three largest and oldest book agents in the country. Their present supply of
materials to the West is slowing down as the older generation of Slovene-speaking immigrants
dies out. However, interest from libraries has increased, and demand from individual
customers appears to be steady. DZS is K & S's supplier of Slovene materials. Throughout
the region K & S are look upon as esteemed booksellers.

DZS, like other firms in Slovenia in the early 1990s, underwent a process of restructuring to
try and eliminate labour-intensive and low prority activities. Under new ownership the firm's
main aim has moved towards the generating of profits.

In Slovenia, as in most other former communist countries, the massive government subsidies
for publishing have diminished. The present priority of converting to the open market
hampers funding for such cultural activities as libraries and publishing. Subsidies would help
offset printing costs and author royalties, costs which are now reflected in high retail prices.

The standard of printing in Slovenia has been of a good quality and formerly some British
publishers had printing done in Slovenia to cut down on costs. Since 1990 the process was
reversed. For some time the cost of printing in Slovenia has been so high that DZS gets its
printing done through a British firm with facilities in Hong Kong. They now think that prices
are levelling out.

Publications from other countries of former Yugoslavia are not in big supply in Slovenia at this
time but Serbo-Croat materials are still of interest and will be bound to come back into the
market in the future.

Slovenian journals are some of the most expensive in Eastern Europe. This may be because
the total population of the country is just 2 million (2,000,000) print runs are small and the
market limited. At the same time these costs are contributed to by the high level of quality
operated by Slovenian printers. It has been noticed that the public is turning more and more
to libraries, with three to four times as many readers now registering at libraries compared
with a few years ago.

In 1991 the level of publication was low but by 1993 the market was seen to be greatly
improved and a recovery taking place. Since 1991 many new private publishers went into

business, some quickly disappearing. Existing business have tried to diversify by marketing
other goods such as shoes or computers.

Libraries

National and University Library (NUK) in Ljubljana receives 30% of acquisitions on exchange
with 70% purchased. The NUK receives around 6,000 English language monographs and 600
periodical titles annually. Unlike some other institutions and companies, in 1993 the Library
could say that it has felt virtually no effects from the political and economic changes of the
past four years, except that NUK has lost the right to depository copies from the other former
Yugoslav republics. There do not appear to be problems with the system of legal depository
copies, which NUK continues to receive unhampered. There is steady support in the Slovene
Ministry of Culture for NUK's exchange program, even though it is universally agreed that the
present time is not a favourable one for cultural institutions.

The NUK sees its primary aim in carrying out an exchange programme is to disseminate
Slovene materials to libraries around the world. Although it receives materials as part of the
exchange system anything it really needs is purchased. Since 1989-1991 NUK has been free
to purchase directly from sources in Western Europe and the US. Some books and
CD-ROMs are ordered directly from their publishers.

One of the greatest benefits that NUK can offer exchange partners is in the area of periodical
subscriptions. The NUK can order most Slovene periodicals at domestic rates for exchange
partners. This can save between 50% to 70% of what it would otherwise cost them to obtain
these serials through a Slovenian vendor, not to mention vendors outside of Slovenia. Not all
serials can be purchased by NUK at these domestic rates.

The Slovene Academy of Arts and Sciences (SAZU) library has a highly efficient, automated
exchange operation. However, over the past few years SAZU, like HAZU in Zagreb, has
noticed a major reduction in the number of exchange titles received from partners in Eastern
Europe, due to the tremendous financial difficulties in the region. Titles from Russia, Poland,
Romania and Albania have shown the greatest drop. Recently some materials have been sent
in microfiche format but this is not of use to SAZU as they have no microfiche reader to use
those materials.

SAZU's publishing output has also declined in recent years causing some fear that a knock on
effect will arise as exchange partners reduce their supply. The cost of printing in Slovenia has
increased since 1991 while SAZU's publication print runs have declined and are less now than
they were even in the 1960s and 1970s. Government support for SAZU has not increased and
from 1995 SAZU may need to begin purchasing some titles although they prefer to operate
exchange agreements.

The National Library of Slovenia has now agreed to begin contributing bibliogaphic records to
WorldCat (The OCLC Online Union Catalogue). Records from 1989 to 1996 will be
included. Vilenka Jakac-Bizjak, director of library programs, said that this event is very
important and is delighted that OCLC is interested in Slovenian records online. A new library
building is also being built and is expected to be operational in 1999.

The Institute of Information Science (IZUM) in Maribor has an interesting, fast loading
web-page - http://www.izum.si/. A recent note in the LAR Library Technology supplement (6)
says that Informations System of Information Resources in Slovenia (IFORS) project financed
by the Slovenian Ministry of S & T aims to provide information about all computerised
information resources in Slovenia. This service comes via IZUM

Several quality scientific journals are being published one of them being Informatica - an
international Journal of Computing and Informatics published in Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Macedonia

Publishers

Kultura is one of a few of the major socialist-era publishers, most of which have survived and
have remained as strong players in the publishing industry (e.g., Misla, Makedonska kniga,
Kultura). Mr Baevski, the Director, estimated that in 1994 there were 35 new publishers in
Macedonia. With a small reading public of around 1,200,000 native Macedonia speakers print
runs tend to be small, ranging from 1,000 -5,000 at most. Loss of government support has
had a huge effect on prices and on publishing in general. Before 1990, up to 40% of finance
came from the Ministry of Culture although in those days publishers generally published what
they thought the government expected.

Libraries

The National and University Library Kliment Ohridski (NUB) have experienced many
problems with the mail and some of NUB's shipments to exchange partners did not get
through. The blockade against Macedonia by Serbia and Greece cut off Macedonia's main
trade route through Thessaloniki and made surface mail difficult. Overseas air mail was the
only feasible route for maintaining exchanges, given the blockade of their surface routes, but
this was expensive. Frequently books are packed for dispatch but the budget does allow for
them to be posted. To keep exchanges working it is helpful if foreign partners are able to
subsidise postage. This may temporarily help the problem of materials leaving the country but
the problem of incoming mail is still a difficulty. Incoming air mail may arrive but if materials
are being sent by surface they way sit in Thessalonika indefinitely. As UN sanctions against
Serbia fell the land links were easier.

Supply of legal deposit copies broke down in 1991 and is still in the process of restoration.
Previously 12 copies of each item published in the federation (seven of which went to the
national libraries throughout Yugoslavia) were received. Under the new Macedonian law,
NUB will get five copies of each title. NUB is still responsible for compiling the Macedonian
national bibliography which is issued in two series, one for monographs and the other for
articles published in serials. Publication of the national bibliography, as of many institutional
serial titles, has lagged in recent years. In December 1995 one series is current at 1993, the
other still lags at 1991. NUB is interested in improving the quality of this publication.

The Macedonian Academy of Arts and Sciences (MANU) can offer only Academy
publications on exchange and cannot meet requests to supply other Macedonian publications.
Postage has become more expensive than the materials themselves. Some exchange partners
have been dropped and the library staff has been reduced from eight employees to five. Like
other academy libraries throughout the region, MANU has had to cut many paid subscriptions
for Western periodicals and would welcome suggestions from partners that would help
reinstate some of them.

Although MANU uses an e-mail link it is used only in case of emergency at this time because,
not having its own link, a fee for each use is paid. Once they have their own Internet address
this restriction will be dropped.

Yugoslavian titles

With the present political situation in Yugoslavia, Jugoslavenska Kniga DSC's main supplier in
Belgrade is no longer able to supply many titles which they previously supplied up to 1992
which are published in the other countries. However, it should be mentioned that
Jugoslavenska Kniga has continued to supply those publications that they can obtain
throughout the troubles in their country and have often guided us to other suppliers when they
could no longer provide the items required.

Direct purchase

When no other means of supply is forthcoming it is sometimes necessary to search for details
of the publishers and write to try to verify the state of publication of certain serials. Having
done the groundwork in tracing a publisher it is then often easiest to ask the publisher to
supply the title and obtain it as a direct purchase. Obtaining titles by direct purchase is as time
consuming as arranging exchange but it has the advantage of knowing what the cost is.

In the former Yugoslavia in particular we now obtain many items directly from the place of
publication as after the troubles began this was the only way that supply could be secured.

Conclusion

While most of the former communist countries of USSR and Eastern Europe are facing
difficulties, troubles in the territory which was Yugoslavia have been particularly extreme. In
the field of publication the large state publishing houses have been drastically reduced and
smaller private companies, often using staff previously employed in the government business,
have arisen and the price of publications has increased. The amount of publication is now
much reduced and print runs are smaller. The high quality printing to be found in eg Croatia is
now sometimes being sent to the Far East where it can he done more cheaply. Although some
aid has been forthcoming (eg from Soros) it has not made a large impact.

This, together with the reduction of funding in libraries, has made acquisition of materials
difficult. In former Yugoslavia the deposit of large numbers of books for use in exchange
agreements has been considerably reduced. Discount of books has also been reduced or
eliminated. Decreased funding of libraries in the West has also played its part and it is more
difficult to justify purchase or supply items for exchange. On top of these problems, the
sanctions and blockade imposed by the West and other countries have made many difficulties
for acquisition of materials from the Former Yugoslavia.

On the positive side there are now a number of small publishers producing good quality
materials esepcially in Croatia and Slovenia. Agents have streamlined their services and
libraries are adjusting to the changes in acquisitions and readership demands. The flow of
information between the region and the west was seriously curtailed for a while but there are
signs that a new order is being established.

Kathleen Ladizesky

Slavonic Acquisitions, The British Library, Reader Services & Collections Development,
Boston Spa, Wetherby, West Yorkshire LS23 7BQ

Acknowledgement

Thanks to my colleague Ron Hogg for helping me try to understand the new boundaries of the
Former Yugoslavia.

References

1) PEIC, S. The tragedy of wanton cultural destruction. South Slav Journal 16(1-2) pp 11-14

2) DAVIS, R. Deliberate destruction in former Yugoslavia. Library Association Record 96(4)
April 1994 pi93

3) PERLEZ, J. Ruin of Sarajevo Library is symbol of a shattered culture. New York 7 Wq
A ugust 12 1996 ' "

4) THOMAS, C. Slavonic and East European Acquisitions in the British Library
and in British Libraries. Talk given at Leipzig Book Fair 1997

5) BIGGINS, M. Library Assessment Project: South Eastern Europe. Report to
University of Kansas made public on Slavlibs E-mail Forum

6) SAP AC, 1. All information sources covered. Library Association Record Technology
Supplement 2(1) Feb. 1997 p 9

L .

Librarians In Opposition

It is frequently claimed that from amongst its personnel ranks, librarianship in Germany
offered little effective resistance to National Socialism. This is not untrue. Many librarians
even approved of Nazi Kulturpolitik and gave it their support which facilitated the integration
of the library systems into the National Socialists' system of control. Almost every famous
spokesperson for the profession willingly enforced, at first organisationally and later
ideologically, the Gleichschaltung -or the policy of forced conformity. This was as a result of
either political ignorance, careful calculation, being simply terrified into compliance, or
ambitious, personal motives. This is not however, the full picture.

In addition to general conformity and zealous sycophancy, there was measured resistance,
solidarity and a readiness to help dismissed colleagues, there was also hidden resistance by
failing to comply with, or damaging editions of, official rules. The cleansing of the profession,
regarded by many as excessive, was carried out slowly and with reluctance. There was
however, also defiant revolt and even resistance, which ultimately resulted in the persecution
of librarians with different opinions. Many librarians paid the price for their courageous stance
-their basic humanist, anti-fascist conviction- by being forced into emigration, being
imprisoned, sent to concentration camps or even to the gallows. This aspect of predominantly
politically oriented resistance to the Nazi dictatorship by members of the profession, has been
largely overlooked by most accounts of the profession written to date. It has remained chiefly
unexposed, neglected in an excessive manner and even omitted. Librarians however, who
individually or collectively were involved in political resistance against the demons which
invaded Gennany and her libraries in 1933, deserve greater recognition than that which they
have received until now.

The extent of the influence which the Nazi's seizing of power had on librarians' lives can be
judged by the example of events which took place in early 1933 at the public library in
Breslau. Three leading librarians -Klose, Maiwald and Moering- known as opponents of
Hitler were dismissed immediately. Their subsequent fates were as follows: The proven
library historian and fervent democrat Dr. Alfred Klose, lost not only the field of activity
entrusted to him, but also his secure livelihood, and was forced thus to struggle on in a field of
work alien to him. Librarian George Maiwald, member of the German Communist Party
(KPD), began illegal political activities. After being arrested, he survived torture at the hands
of the Nazis and was later able to flee abroad, settling finally in South America. As for library
director Licentiate Ernst Moering, a very influential Christian politician whose particular
interest was in educational matters, he was detained at the beginning of February 1933 by the
Brownshirts for being one of their most prominent opponents. They placed a jester's cap upon
the head of this commendable man and lead him through the Breslau streets so dressed.
Nothing is known of his fate thereafter,

The events which took place in the Silesian capital during the National Socialists' first year of
dictatorship, were reflected in various forms throughout other German cities. This period will
forever remain the darkest chapter in the history of Germany's libraries.

Furthermore, we should not forget the fate of our Jewish colleagues, who suffered en masse
firstly social exclusion, then persecution and finally extermination. In recent years many
historical accounts from libraries have given this horrific event much consideration and have
investigated it in detail. The profession as a whole lost not only some of its most talented
members, but also suffered overall castigation, and was thereby integrated into the dictatorial
framework of the National Socialists. With respect to the conformist attitude adopted by the
majority of those in the profession it has become apparent since 1970, even in German
specialist publications, that there were also significantly different attitudes. If one chooses not
to regard this later date as an indicator of a post-1945 suppressed guilt complex, it at least
then points towards a trauma which events from the National Socialist era have left behind.
This was limited also mainly by the 'New Beginning' in the West German zone, lead by exactly
the same people, in the same positions still who, whilst having criticised National Socialism
did not risk their livelihoods to do so at any point.

By comparison, in the Soviet occupation zone developments took a different course. Here, it
was the librarians who had been controlled according to Nazi regulations, or those who had
been persecuted, which were successful -with the support of the occupying forces- in
obtaining the top positions once the library system was rebuilt. The experiences which had
been gained from their illegal struggle and living under the shadow of the gallows, bred within
them a new, anti-fascist, democratic understanding for the job. This meant that they were
ideally suited for the radical changes which a new socio-political beginning, greeted by them,
presented. These experiences also formed the basis during the late 40's and early 50's on
which libraries made political decisions. Attitudes towards librarianship during the National
Socialist era were for this reason far more impartial and open than in West Germany. They
distinguished themselves by ruthless, though at times indiscriminate criticism, and
simultaneously by painful self-directed criticism -the experiences and grief of those involved.
One saw oneself and those directly involved as fully justified -part of a historically
acknowledged twelve year political battle against National Socialism. It was from this that a
new claim to political leadership derived its legitimacy.

At the beginning the anti-fascist activities and plans of action, supported by the allies, were
influential in both parts of Germany. In the West zone there were also librarians who, as
maltreated persons or victims of National Socialism, were heavily involved with the
democratic rebuilding process. For this, Eugen Sulz in Essen, Erwin Ackerknecht in
Ludwigsburg, Robert Kohlstadt in Saarbriicken or of course, the hardened resister Gottlieb
Branz in Munich should be remembered. On the other hand the leading anti-fascist librarians
in the Soviet-occupied zone relied to a considerable extent upon qualified personnel which had
not been corrupted by the Nazis, or who as former companions wanted an honest, new

beginning. It would not have been possible, in East or West, to have overcome the problems
posed by bringing the library system back in order by any other means.

The process of dissociation began with the political division of Germany in 1947/48, when it
became apparent that the National Socialist past was to be dealt with in differing ways. In the
Federal Republic the process of dissociation from the products of the National Socialist library
politics continued for longer, particularly with respect to those who had been racially
persecuted and the looting of East European libraries which had occurred later. The result of
this was a revival of the civic-humanist tradition of librarianship which had prevailed in the
years up to 1933. In the German Democratic Republic however, the break was even more
radical than simply with everything that could be traced back to National Socialist roots.

Here, there was an ideological clash between those people involved with the profession during
the period before the rise of the National Socialists, and others who wished to instate a new
policy for the libraries, the essential features of which coming from the politico-educational
aims of the workers' movement in Germany and Soviet-influenced Socialism. Many of the
protagonists of the early rebuilding years, who came out of the struggles as convinced
Socialists and Communists, regard the fact that this was seen immediately as a new
indoctrination -albeit this time of an anti-fascist, socialist educational orientation- as a sad
development. Some resigned, whilst others were relocated to jobs of little significance or
chose them themselves. They did not however, wish to lose their ideals.

Despite the GDR, in principal, having better provisions for dealing with the events linked to
the National Socialist era, these were insufficient. The fate of German librarians and others
who in their struggle were crushed underhand by the Nazi dictatorship, has nevertheless been
reported in greater detail, and attempts have been made to trace their identities - even until as
late as the 80's, though this has also served an alibi function, a heroic past can make the
differences of the present seem more acceptable. Observed in academic circles, some doctoral
thesis which have been written in the Institute of Librarianship at the Humboldt University in
Berlin highlight this aspect. Unknown library work in German concentration camps, the
heroic activities of librarians in the Theresienstadt ghetto, or the disastrous library policy
during WWII in Eastern Europe. Even the eventful fate of individual collections during the
twelve year rule of the Brownshirts ', has been detailed in specialist reference works and
publications. Without doubt such stories form part of the complete collection which German
unity brings with it.

In the account of the whole of Germany and in discussions, even in Wolfenbiittel in 1988 and
1989, there has been far too little reflection on the activities of those upright librarians who
knowingly risked their livelihoods and lives for the basic ideals of their profession. To what
extent can this sacrifice be measured? Under the shadow of death a seemingly hopeless
struggle against National Socialism, Fascism and war continued, so as to protect the
self-esteem which many colleagues did not show after 1933. Work in libraries, as far it was
still able to be carried out, was not an end in itself, but rather served the aims of democracy,

peace and social justice. Only on this general basis could its aims be achieved, for there were
naturally manifold personal reasons for opposing the barbaric Nazi rule, determined by
different conditions and personal convictions, which at times were even contradictory. There
were many different forms of opposition, which means that frequently they cannot be
classified.

It is however, no coincidence that it was predominantly younger librarians who were involved
in active resistance, and almost without exception saw their future in the two large German
workers' parties originating from the Weimar Republic's latter years. This can be explained by
the period. To accuse them today, now that Socialism has been discredited world-wide of
having striven after false ideals and for that reason to deny them the recognition and respect
which they deserve, is not only unfounded but also intolerant and deeply ahistorical. As
German librarians, we should have more pride in the fact that we can point to their example of
active resistance against National Socialism. It proves that between the years of 1933 and
1945 not all librarians simply manoeuvred strategically or conformed with National Socialism,
quietly dissociating themselves from colleagues.

Examining even the lives of only five politically engaged people -Philipp Schaeffer, Erich
Schroter, Lotte Schleif, Gerhard Hermann and Olga Hallervorden- it is clear how active
resistance was organised and expressed.

Philipp Schaeffer 128 December 1894 - 13 Mav 19431

Born into a Prussian officers family, Philipp Shaeffer spent his childhood years in Czarist St.
Petersburg, where his father worked for the diplomatic service. From school he went to
university to study Middle Eastern studies. After his internship during WWI along with his
family, Shaeffer moved to Heidelberg where he continued his philological studies and
completed his doctoral thesis in 1923. A fellow student was Anna Seghers. In addition to
speaking Russian and French, Schaeffer also spoke Sanskrit, Tibetanese, and Chinese. He
moved to Berlin in the mid-1920s and in 1927 he found employment with the city library in
Berlin-Mitte. Here, he was assigned responsibility for assembling the new adult reading room
in the recently opened Brunnenstrasse main library. Thanks to the book collections from the
former Social Democratic Heimannschen library, it was developed into one of the best
organised collections for social sciences in Berlin for which the library even published a
catalogue. Schaeffer and his wife, a sculptress, joined the German Communist Party (KPD)
together in 1928. During the meetings of Junior German Librarians of Probstzella in 1930 and
Halberstadt in 1931, Schaeffer was the leading member of a small group of Communist public
librarians who were present. Dismissed from his job as early as 1932 because of his political
activity, he took up work as a packer and then proceeded after January the 30th 1933 to
undertake illegal work for his party. As a member of the underground movement for the area
of Berlin-Brandenburg, Schaeffer was responsible for the editing and distribution of the
Roten-SA-Standarte, the "Red Socialist Army Standard", which was aimed at subverting those

in the ranks of the Brownshirts. He also lead an illegal group of students at the Berlin
University, and in addition also managed to find the time to continue working on his favourite
project -a first dictionary for sinologists, Held under arrest for a short period, and then for
many months in custody in Moabit, he was released for lack of evidence, only to be later
sentenced to five years imprisonment. Released from the Luckau detention centre in 1940,
Schaeffer immediately joined one of the most important Nazi resistance movements lead by
Schulze-Boysen, the Rote Kapelle. In spring 1942 he fell from the third floor of a tenement
block while trying to prevent two married Jews from committing suicide, in doing so seriously
injuring himself. Arrested by the Nazis, he was brought to Spandau prison only able to walk
with difficulty and when assisted. He was charged with high treason. Guinter Weisenbom
reporting Schaeffer's final words, describes how, lifting himself up on his crutches he said to
the court with pride, 'Gentlemen, you ask me why I failed to report this matter? I can only
reply by saying that it is because I am not a henchman for the police.' Just as his companions
had been, the 48 year old was sentenced to death. His execution took place on the 13th of
May 1943 in Plotzensee: Shaeffer went to the gallows with total composure.

Schaeffer was, according to his circle of young librarians in Berlin, a fascinating personality
with an excellent intellect. In library work he saw the possibility of bringing about social
change and tried to shift the library's political stance away from its sheltered exclusion and
unbinding neutrality, to being active in the daily political struggle. The library in
Brunnenstrasse, his former domain, is still standing today and was named after him in 1952.

Erich Schroter 01 July 1894 - 23 December 1965)

Edch Schroter was brought up in the workers' quarters of Berlin. After a technical
apprenticeship and working in industry, he became an avid student at the adult education
centre in Neukolln and a knowledge-thirsty reader at the city library. The director of the
Neukolln city library, Dr. Helene Nathan, interested him in librarian work and obtained for
him, from Walter Hofmann, a study place in Leipzig at the City Library School, the final
exams for which he took in 1928. Hofmann recognised the excellent organisational skills
which Schroter possessed and made him the technical director of his Leipzig Institute for the
Science of Reading and Literature without further ado. Helene Nathan however, reclaimed
her prodigy in 1929 and employed him as a librarian in Neukolln. It was due to her influence
that he joined the German Socialist Party (SPD) in 1930. In 1933 Schroter, then 39 years old,
was dismissed from work for being an "active Marxist sympathiser". With the assistance of his
former director Helene Nathan, who prior to his dismissal herself had been racially persecuted
and driven out of work, he managed to set up a new livelihood. He set up a private lending
collection in Charlottenburg which was permitted to lend books to the Jewish community until
1935. Schroter joined the illegal group the Rote Kampfer, "Red Fighters", which campaigned
against the Nazis by distributing leaflets and posters. Arrested in 1936 and freed after a tiring
period of custody at Alexanderplatz, he was sentenced to six months imprisonment in Tegel
and permanent police surveillance thereafter.

At the beginning of 1945 Schroter was already active at the city library in Neukolln, this time
as the director and it was from here that he began to rebuild the much devastated public library
system in Berlin. In the first post-war municipal authority he assumed the role of consultant
for library systems, and after the city's division he became the head consultant for library
systems in the Central Management for Adult Education in the GDR. Schroter founded the
first specialist publication to be produced again in Germany after WWII -Der
Volksbibliothekar, or "The Peoples' Librarian", appearing under Soviet licence from October
1946. He was dismissed from public office in 1951 as a result of a party examination, and it is
thought likely that his former membership to the Social Democrats may have played a role
here. Even until two years before his death Schroter was working at the Central Institute for
Library systems in Berlin, which he co-founded in 1950. As an expert there on library
management he had played a decisive role with respect to the setting-up of open shelf libraries
in the GDR. Schroter was an active, resourceful, shining rhetorician, and after 1945 an
ardent, antifascist democratic propagandist working for library circles. He demonstrated these
qualities in his numerous expert contributions to the field, as a lecturer at the Berlin Library
School and in powerful round table discussions with West German counterparts.

Elly Lotte Schleif (4 July 1903 - 26 February 1965)

Elly Lotte Schleif came from Berlin-Lichterfelde and her father taught in adult education. She
graduated in 1921 as a librarian from the Centre for Librarian studies in Berlin under Paul
Ladewig, at the Berlin City Library under Gottlieb Fritz and in addition under Fritz Milkau at
the Prussian National Library. She completed her studies in 1925 by taking the Prussian
committee diploma exams. She found work as a library assistant at the city library in
Stralsund under the authority of Erwin Ackerknecht, reformer of the Stettiner library. Lotte
Schleif admired his work greatly and they maintained professional contact throughout their
lives. In 1928 the opportunity arose for Lotte Schleif to take on a post for three months as a
trainee for libraries in Leipzig. This was therefore a chance for her to learn more about the
library work of Walter Hofmnann at close proximity. Following this she was employed as
second librarian at the regional library of Thuringia in Gera, but was taken in 1930 by Helene
Nathan to the lending library of Neukolln, Berlin, where she worked until 1935. She took part
in the Young Librarians meetings at Probstzella and Halberstadt.

Influenced by Phillip Schaeffer, Lotte Schleif offered her services to the German Communist
Party (KPD) at the age of 29, and after the National Socialists seized power in February 1933
she agreed to undertake illegal activities for the party. Her flat served as quarters for herself,
Schaeffer and other illegal persons. She involved herself with the publishing of the
Roten-SA-Standarte the "Red Socialist Army Standard", secured storage space for selected
Marxist literature, and smuggled secretary Ernst Thalmanns, in addition to other endangered
underground leaders over the border into Czechoslovakia. In 1935 Lotte Schleif had to give
up her increasingly risky position in Neukolln and moved to the borough of Prenzlauer Berg,
where she was able to carry on her work unhindered for the secret front. From the beginning

of the Nazi dictatorship she had been involved with an expert committee which had been
working on the preparation of rules for the alphabetical cataloguing within public libraries.

The committee was lead by the director of the Berlin city library, Wilhelm Schuster, chairman
of the Union of German Librarians which had suffered the policy of forced conformity of the
National Socialists. Working with leading members of the field who supported the National
Socialists provided an effective means of camouflage for other activities. As the committee
work on rules drew to a close in 1937, Lotte Schleif was given the position as director for the
borough of Nordmarktplatz, and shortly after she took on the job in the capacity of a civil
service library inspector. Her friend and later life-companion Rudolf Bergtel, sentenced to
eight years in prison in 1938 for being a Communist Party functionary, managed to escape in
1939 from Aschendorf prison. With the help of the recently sworn-in municipal authorities
civil servant he was able to hide at the home of sculptors Kurt and Elizabeth Schumacher. In a
dramatic fashion it was later possible for him to be brought to the safety of Switzerland.

At this point in time Lotte Schleif had already begun her conspiratorial activity with the Roten
Kapelle. She formed the link between Schulze-Boysen and the resistance movement for Hans
Coppi, and was involved with the activities of branched underground movements. On the
18th of February 1942 she was arrested whilst at work in her library. Whilst being held, both
in cells at Alexanderplatz and at court cells in Charlottenburg, she was able to deceive her
prosecutors. When her case came before the Reichs court, a sentence of eight years
imprisonment was imposed, instead of the death penalty which the prosecution had demanded.

Lotte Schleif, now suffering the additional disability of being blind in one eye, spent two years
and seven months between the prisons of Cottbus, Jauer and Kleinmeusdorf near Leipzig. It
was here that on the recommendation of the "American Officers for Prisons" she was released
on the 10th of May 1945. She struggled back to Berlin to find her flat in Wilmersdorf totally
destroyed, yet nevertheless in June offered her services towards the process of rebuilding. As
a consultant for public and corporate libraries she gave training classes to junior members of
staff of the Neukolln library, joined the editorial staff of the Volksbibliothekar, or "The
Peoples' Librarian", and then in 1947 began the construction of the Berlin Librarians School,
which she directed until 1950 and lectured in from then until 1954. She collaborated with
Joachim Haberichter on the alphabetical cataloguing rules, which became compulsory from
1951 in the GDR.

Lotte Bergtel-Schleif was the only librarian expert in Gennany able to maintain a professional
career whilst also carrying out illegal resistance activities. In 1946 she wrote an article for the
Volksbibliothekar -"The Peoples' Librarian"- on "Work possibilities in the field of public
libraries under the National Socialists", and in this she gave an account of her ten years of
living a double life, playing a public role in an unfair state against which she bitterly struggled
in private. It is the only article written in the post-war period for the specialist press, which
has been critical and self-critical about the profession in the National Socialist period and
remains so today.

During her imprisonment, Lotte Bergtel-Schleif s health was seriously damaged with the result
that soon after her release she was forced to give up her professional work completely. She
was a convinced and disciplined Communist, but nevertheless saw the party developments
under the leadership of Walter Ulbricht and the ever more powerful group which surrounded
him, with increasing concern and growing scepticism and she suffered as a consequence. She
became even more bitter when in 1956 a ban was declared on her party throughout the greater
German republic. The preliminary proceedings which Schleif and other surviving members of
the Roten Kapelle had initiated against the Nazi sympathising chief prosecutor, Dr. Manfred
Roeder, were taken on by the state lawyers in Luneburg 1951. The accusation of treason
raised once more over the deaths of resistance group members like Philipp Schaeffer lead
Lotte Bergtel-Schleif to dissociate herself from such a type of peoples' parliament. Until her
death in 1965 she held out hope for Soviet reforms -today we know this to have been illusory.

Dr, Gerhard Hermann (5 February 1901 - 19 September 1946)

Gerhard Hermann was bom in Posen, son of a railway land surveyor. He studied Romance
languages and Literature in Jena and Munich and received his doctorate in 1925 for a thesis on
Voltaire. Active in the city library in Erfurt as a trainee, he became interested in library work.
In order to learn the basics of librarianship thoroughly, he took a position as an academic
assistant to Erwin Ackerknecht in the city library of Stettin, where together with Rudolf
Joerden he obtained the necessary specialist qualifications in 1927. On moving to Berlin, a
city with stark social tensions, he consequently felt immediately compelled to join the German
Social Democrats (SPD). Working at first in Spandau with Max Wieser, and then in Treptow,
he also maintained contact with the author and colleague Hermann Stresau. In 1932 he
applied for entry into the civil service with a view to obtaining the position of City Library
Advisor in Friedrichshain -which he succeeded in doing early the next year. He was
denounced by a group of library employees as a result of his rejection of National Socialism
and three months later had to answer again to further questions from Nazi officials. He was
relieved of his duties and then finally in October 1933 dismissed without notice. Successive
personal threats finally lead Hermann before the year was out, to emigrate to Prague. Here,
he and his family sought an existence from work for radio and press. His knowledge of foreign
languages served him well: he spoke French, Italian, Spanish, Romanian and English, and
shortly after his arrival Czech too. Hermann's academic journalism in Moldaustadt, in addition
to a book which he had published there on a philological topic, served an anti-fascist purpose.
As a free author living in exile he received support from both the Thomas Mann Society and
his writing.

After the Nazis' invasion of Czechoslovakia, this modest livelihood was once again threatened.
He survived his first interrogation by the Gestapo only by crafty deception, his ties with illegal
groups surfaced however, as a result of traitors. He was arrested in July 1941 and in April
1942 sentenced by a special court at the German district court in Prague. The original
sentence of two years imprisonment was increased to four, and his wife was imprisoned also.

As a prisoner in a labour camp near Coswig he suffered severe physical ailments which were
so bad that he had to be transferred to the prison hospital at Berlin-Moabit. In 1943 he was
transferred to the Nazi regime's most modern and secure prison in Brandenburg-Gorden. The
successful resistance organisation -which centred on the library- took him on as an odd-job
man. For Hermann, being accepted into a circle of politically like-minded people was a relief
and the small amount of freedom which this offered him he used to learn Russian.

Freed in April 1945 he moved back to the devastated city of Berlin. He too offered his
services towards the democratic rebuilding, and immediately took on the position of
consultant for the academic libraries and archives in the Adult Education Centre of the
Municipal Authorities. Here, he was responsible for the reorganisation of library conditions in
the National Library, the City Library and the City Archives: the Town Hall Library came
directly under his control. Under his directorship until the middle of 1946, more than a million
books were recovered from the city's ruins. Together with Erich Schroter and Lotte
Bergtel-Schleif, Gerhard Hermann was able to bring the library system of the old Reich's
capital into line with the legal stipulations of the occupying forces. At this point the afflictions
which Hermann had incurred during his term in prison showed themselves to be irreparable,
and forced the upright anti-fascist and strong opponent of Hitler into a sanatorium in
September 1946, where he died at the age of 45.

OlgaHallervorden ('ll July 1898 - 14 December 19781

Olga Hallervorden was bom in Konigsberg, Prussia. Her father was a successful practising
neurologist and involved with the German Socialist Party (SPD). From an early age he
encouraged her to take part in the Youth Workers Movement, and entering into the Socialist
Student Alliance after grammar school, a related group, appeared to her to be an almost
logical progression. At university she studied French and English and graduated from the
National and University Library of Konigsberg, and in addition with the city library's own
traineeship. In 1922 she passed the Prussian committee diploma exams in Berlin. On moving
to the capital, the first chance which she had for proving her abilities was with the publishing
house Julius Springer in the Kaiserin-Auguste-Viktoria-House, and also in the Reichs Office
for Statistics. It was during this turbulent period in the metropolis that she met a companion
for life, the Yugoslavian Oto Bihaliji-Merin, who later became an art historian, and under
whose influence she joined the German Communist Party (KPD) in 1925. She was a student
under Hermann Duncker and Frida Rubiner at the Marxist Workers School (MASCH) and
was commissioned by her party to write a report for the Soviet Union on "Female workers in
Germany". After six months working at the public library in Wilmersdorf she obtained, in
1927, the position of library head secretary of the borough office. Hallervorden went on to
spend the next five years managing the Borough Office Library.

As a member of the German Alliance of Civil Servants she had to conceal her work for the
Alliance of Proletarian Revolutionary Writers, founded in 1928 by Johannes R. Becher, Anna
Seghers and Ludwig Renn. It was for this reason that her contributions to the Alliance's
publication, 'Left Curve', were printed under the pseudonym of Anna Loos.

In early 1933 Olga Hallervorden was dismissed for having "attitudes hostile to the state". In
order to be officially recognised in Denmark as an emigrant, she entered into a fictitious
marriage with a Danish railway employee. Secretly working as the secretary for emigration
for the German Communist Party (KPD) she worked closely together with the worker-author
Martin Andersen Nexo, who had taken on the chair of a Danish support group. Hermann
Duncker worker and functionary, admired greatly by Hallervorden, had emigrated to Denmark
in 1936 and was able to act as an advisor to her. In July 1937 she registered her services for
the medical corps of the International Brigade, and travelled with her new companion Andreas
Ewert to take part in fighting fascism in the Spanish Civil War. Her superior was Wilhelm
Grundelach, who had been sent by the International Red Cross to Spain. He later became
party executive of the German Communist Party (KPD) and a Member of the House of
Representatives in the first Federal German Parliament of 1949. After two years of a futile
campaign on Spanish soil Hallervorden, librarian and medical corps member, along with her
companions was interned in 1939. Hallervorden and 300 other opponents of the Hitler and
Franco regimes were interned for two years at the camp in Rieucros. After France's defeat she
continually faced the threat of being extradited to Germany. Only after the actions of the
emigration organisations and with the aid of anti-fascist support groups was she able to obtain
a life-saving visa for Mexico. The planned journey started from a bordello in Marseilles, it
ended abruptly however, in Casablanca where the refugees were sent to a Moroccan
concentration camp. Only months later were Olga Hallervorden and fellow-sufferers, amongst
which were Andreas Ewert and Walter Janka able to continue their adventurous journey
aboard an over-laden, unseaworthy ship to Vera Cruz, via Lisbon and Cuba. The German
emigrants in Mexico, amongst which were also Bodo Uhse, Anna Seghers, Egon Erwin
Kirsch, Ludwig Renn, Paul Merker and Alexander Abusch, joined up with the organisation
'Free Germany', which had been formed in 1942 and represented an important centre of
resistance against fascism, which had also become the world's enemy. Olga Hallervorden was
secretary of the Women's Committee for the Emigration Organisation, which was chaired by
Anna Seghers. She worked for the 'Free Germany' publication, dedicating herself primarily to
the task of translating from Spanish, English and Danish. That authors such as Consstancia de
la Mora, Howard Fast and Hans Schefig were published in German is thanks to the work of
Hallervorden.

Only after nearly twenty years of exile was Olga Hallervorden able to return via Italy, Austria
and Czechoslovakia to her homeland. It seemed only second nature for her to join the ranks
of anti-fascist companions in East Germany. For this reason she registered hopefully with the
GDR authorities. At the time the political climate regarding emigrants from the West had
become rough and unfriendly. A show trial was organised for the leader of the organisation

for emigration to Mexico, Paul Merker. Alexander Abusch and others had already fallen out
of favour with the power-wielding, ex-Muscovite Walter Ulbricht and Hermann Matern. The
returning couple found humble accommodation but after their divorce in 1954, and perhaps as
a consequence of it, had to make do with subordinate positions thereafter. Only when the
Soviet Union relaxed during the Khrushchev era could Olga Ewert-Hallervorden obtain
employment. She was the director of the recruitment department of the trade union school at
Bernau. The social sciences archive which had been set up in 1960 after the death of Hermann
Duncker her former teacher, was a special college collection for which she was responsible.
After her retirement from the profession in 1964 she spoke in great detail of this in an article in
the specialist publication Bibliothekar -'Librarian'. Her death in 1978 was for the most part
unnoticed.

The five political lives which have been outlined above may still serve as examples for us
regarding the duties and obligations which we have. They show clearly the wide spectrum of
resistance which there was against National Socialism into the ranks of which some German
librarians consciously included themselves. It would be unfair to deny their upright struggle
the respect and recognition due simply because they were 'lefties' and supported Socialist
ideals. Moreover, this can only be seen as lacking awareness of history and as conservative
ignorance.

Erwin Marks

Acknowledgement

Thanks to Mr Rustam Z Davar for translating this article.

The Morning Star on ISC

This twice-yearly publication is a must for anyone interested in contemporary questions of
censorship, freedom and ethics. Launched at the LINK conference in December 1994, the
latest edition has just appeared and is designed for library and information workers seeking
alternatives to "the dominant paradigms" of their field of work. But there is something here
for almost everyone. Contributions from around the world, including The Struggle For
Information In South Africa by Christopher Merrett, Pittsburg Students Protest Censorship by
Selva Nebbia and Festival of Rights by Paul Donovan, give some idea of the range of articles.
The Morning Star's role is readily recognised both in the editorial comment and in an article A
Star That Never Sets : The Early Years Of The Morning Star Co-operative - reproduced from
it. Of particular value to those in the business was The News that Doesn't Make the News:
Sources for Alternative Current Affairs Reporting, giving a most tempting breakdown of
journals which specialise in analysing and decoding the mass media.

Towards a Redefinition of Radical Information Work

There are many varied definitions regarding what makes for good Librarianship and
Information Work, but most of these definitions serve just to confuse the lay-person or
non-expert.

Information work should not be about making complex systems, but in helping to clarify the
data or information that the user requires. Even with the universall used Dewey classification
system, most people do not understand it, even though it is in use throughout the globe (1).

For the information seeker the problem is a complex one. They might know what they are
looking at, but still not understand it. Take an example : With a graph you might know the
parameters described, but being inexperienced at reading statistics, not understand what the
graph represents. Yet with the right footnotes, explanation notes regarding the parameters,
and a well designed graphic lay out, the same data should be very easily assimilated.

My thesis is simple, that in order to be better information workers, we have to be
communicators. We should therefore concern ourselves with such things as typography,
graphic design, the way in which databases are constructed, translations (both of languages
and technical words), a knowledge of postal codes, phone codes, transport timetables, stock
market reports, archives, filing systems, and of course, books (2). This is not just so that we
might he better information workers, but radical information workers too.

Perhaps I should here state that my observations and ideas are based upon the experience of
not just working in libraries and the information field since 1972. It is also rooted in 28 years
of Peace Movement activities, the last 11 years as a volunteer in the ntemational secretariat of
the War Resisters International (WRI). Much of this experience has been in what might be
called organising, be it either in campaigning or office management terms. The point being,
that I base my analysis of what we as information workers should he practising, from having
had to deal with end-user needs, rather than from the academics more theoretical perspective.

Aside from being an information provider, I am also an information user. These notes and
observations are the result of doing and observing, rather than from planning and theorising. I

am not an academic and, in my view, those who can't teach become managers (3)

The Problem

Perhaps I should start by looking at the way in which the use of information has changed
within the last decade, or rather some of the problems that are increasingly being experienced
by information workers. These can be best summed up as a series of brief statements:

* information is a commodity (4)

* adult literacy is on the increase (5)

* the "professionalisation" of the librarian and information worker, who takes academic
standards as the only standard, has created a gap in understanding for the end-user. We are no
longer people whose job it is to help the end-user to access what they require in information
terms ; instead we are increasingl becoming the barriers to accessing information.

* the technology itself is creating / has created a society of people who are either information
rich or information poor.

* the number of companies that sell information, be it as providers, publishers, or
"Communications Corporations" seems to grow by the year. One has only to look in the
financial pages of the press to see how this relates to a lot of money being made.

Of course all of these above mentioned points have been spelt out before. I am not voicing
anything that is new, except in the way in which I regard the increasing 'Professionalism' of the
industry as a barrier. It is all very well talking about standards, or building nicely exact (but
complex) classification systems that only the professional can use, but here lies the problem.
Surely it is our job to make access to information easier for the end-user,and not the other way
round. This also applies to the very language that we use too.

There are also other concerns that I have, and which reflect the very way in which the
technology itself has shaped the way that we view the message, and made the medium all
important; it is the effects of viewing screens or listening to telephones, but not reading which
I refer to. I should perhaps illustrate this by a few examples.

* The increasing number of advertisements that give just a telephone, fax or E-mail numbers,
rather than an address that one can write to. The BBC is just as guilty of this too, as this is the
way that listeners are asked to respond, rather than to communicate by post.

* The use of answering machines with messages that the receiver will get back to the caller....
Just you try and ask for the reply to be by post, and you will soon learn what it is to be
ignored.

* The use of mobile telephones, which are expensive to use, and one of the curses of the
modern age (we all have bad stories to tell about them).

Television

Perhaps the worst aspect of how the medium has changed our culture is television. Call me an
eccentric, but I do not own or wish to own a television. Yet it is amazing just how many
people think I should have one, as though it were a life-threatening matter not to have one.
The result has been that I have turned down the offer of more television sets than I care to
count. What really annoys me is the assumption that I am "missing out" on something by not
having such a machine, as though I could somehow not be able to occupy my time without
one. Yet I would question the value of receiving what television has to offer, as much of it is
in the form of repeats, or of no more than time-wasting entertainment value. What ever
happened to creativity or entertaining oneself ?

The worst aspect of television is the way in which it has permeated our culture. At 47 years
old I don't think that I should automatically be expected to know what the latest pop music is,
or learnedly be able to talk about such activities as clubbing, or other aspects of youth culture.
Yet a very high percentage of the population think that a knowledge about what is on
television constitutes "a very basic general knowledge'", even though the very same people
might not be able to tell one much about the history or geography of their own locality, and
might have a very limited knowledge of the world. The really sad thing is that, aside from
repeats, much of what is on television will be known to the self-educated individual through
either newspapers, literature, periodicals, or by listening to the radio. All else on television
(quiz shows and all) is no more than dross.

Yet it is not to rave against the machine that I wish to do in this article, but to look at the
effects that such media have with regards to the presentation of information. One has only to
pick up a copy of the Star or Daily Mirror to see the effect that television has had upon
so-called newspapers. News has become entertainment, and entertainment is the news. Even
the so-called quality broadsheets are not immune from this effect.

Another wav of Viewing Ideas

Thus I come to the main thrust of my concerns and argument. Namely, that if we as
information workers are going to be able to do our job effectively, then we should be as much
concerned about the presentation of information, as the information content itself. Thus I
would argue that we should be interested in looking at graphics, lay-out, typography and type
size. Aspects of translation work and making our communications easily available for
translation are as important too (6). These comments might sound like sweeping statements,
yet from my experiences I can show some of the reasons why I have come to these
conclusions.

Towards a radical view of Information bv Radical information Workers

Many radicals bemoan the fact that 'radical' or 'alternative' viewpoints (or journals) do not get
the coverage or distribution that they deserve to achieve. Yet should we be surprised about
this situation, when we are so good at polemics, and bad at putting over our points of view?
During 1989 I worked as a temp in the research department at the Economist Newspaper.
During my time at the paper I learnt one major lesson, based upon the most basic rule that the
papers operate upon. i.e. If any facts or statistics are given within the paper, then they must be
verified as accurate. In other words, it might be possible to disagree with any opinion that
might be printed within the Economist, but if the paper states something as being a fact, then it
is an accurate and verified fact. I wonder how many radical periodicals I could make a similar
statement about ? It is all very well to be able to give a coherent or 'politically right-on' view
of the world, but if the facts that one argues upon are flawed, then there are going to be a lot
of people that will take no heed of ones argument as a result.

Spelling It out

One would think that the object of writing something down is to communicate either ideas or
information but, from what I have seen over the years, I start to wonder if some writers have
this in mind? I am not talking about grammar or spelling but the set of assumptions that many
authors seem to hold. This comes down to a question of translating abbreviations, explaining
legal points, and making sure that presumptions are not being made. I'll give a few examples,
but most of what I have to say about this issue comes from the fact that people write from
within their own culture IE they do not consider that their work might be read by a person
who lives in another country and might not get the cultural references that they hold. A good
example being that Arthur Daley (7) is not known outside of the U.K.

Humour can also present a lot of problems to the interceptor and information worker. Many
jokes are based upon a previous experience or shared knowledge. The Monty Python Piranha
brothers sketch being a good example, because although it is viewed as humorous outside of
Britain, only if one knows of the Kray Twins does the biting satire in it become obvious (8).
Even the humour and word-play within Tintin and Asterix cartoon books changes depending
upon which language it is printed in, I can think of countless other examples, but as humour
can present problems to anyone doing international work, for most purposes it is best
avoided.

I was once reading a document about a change of law effecting Danish Folk High Schools.
This was a document that looked at the various effects that the new law would have. I could
understand the words that I was reading, but did not understand the document. The reason
being that the author presumed that one would know something about the old laws effecting
High Schools, and about Danish law too. I have also had similar experiences while looking at
documents where abbreviations for organizations have been used, without the full name of the

body being spelt out. Even then, if an organisation is mentioned, it might still be necessary to
give a brief description about the organisation and its aims.

Here is another example of not spelling things out, which shows just how making a
presumption about knowing something can make the information meaningless. On one
occasion, while in Denmark, I was shown a slide show about the ecological aspects of a forest
within the country. There was a map of a forest and the surrounding area. Unfortunately the
map did not have any scale marked upon it, nor was there any indication of how far the forest
was from the nearest large (and well known) town. As a result of this lack of information, I
was unable to really appreciate the data that was presented to me.

Perhaps the worst aspect of making presumptions about the information we might have,
comes as a result of not noting name changes. For example, in books about World War Two
we might read about the siege of Stalingrad, but in contemporary maps you will not see the
town named (9).

Talking of maps and names, I could give some funny stories about how renaming street names
can create problems. Take Mandela Street in Camden Town , named after Nelson Mandela,
which previously had the name of a British regiment that fought in the Boer war, while before
that it was known as Little Camden Street. Or you could take the example of Grimaldi Street
Kings Cross, which used to be George Street, and is now no longer in existence as it is has
been absorbed within the Priory Green Estate (10).

Within Eastern Europe the problem is even worse. I can recall buying a town map in Romania
which had only the old (communist) street names on it, while all of the streets had been
renamed after the revolution of 1989.

My point is simple. Living within an area we can absorb name changes, but unless street maps
and directories have references to the old street names, then other people might find that they
have some difficulties. Map makers and directory compilers take note !

Seeing Is Understanding

How we see the world can define the way in which we take in information, or understand what
we see. This is something that graphic designers might understand, but many librarians and
information workers do not. Thus a lot of attention has always been paid to text within the
library and information world, but not the visual impact that it might have. What we should
always keep in mind, is that the way in which things are visually presented can, and does, have
an impact upon how that information is perceived and subsequently understood.

Older readers will remember the way in which news used to be presented to us in the more
intellectual 'broadsheet' newspapers. What tended to put a lot of people off reading these

papers was that they found it difficult to tackle a mass of type, even though they understood
what was printed. Most people tend to process information in small blocks rather than in one
large block. I would argue that it is as important to ease the eye for the visual perception of
information, as it is to concentrate upon the information itself. In other words, we as
information workers should pay a lot more attention to graphics than we at present tend to do.

It would be very easy for me to give an account of what makes for good visual presentation,
but maybe an example might be better. A piece of printing in an unusual (Eg Gothic) or small
type face (Eg 8 point) can be difficult to read. Remember : a clear bold type-face can aid the
understanding of information content.

We might he working within a world in which the message is audio visual, but even then a
clarity of presentation should not be forgotten (11)

To give another example : it always amazes me how in newspapers so much space can be
devoted to telling people what is on the television, yet when it come to the radio listings, a
magnifying glass is required.

What I am trying to say is that a knowledge of graphics and typography is something that
every information worker should possess, even if they might not have the 'artistic talent' to
take on such graphic design work (12).

Likewise, the use of symbols and signs should be looked at as a form of information too, and
not just as an aspect of the graphic designers remit. Symbols such TM are not what we should
be about. Instead we should be looking at graphics that explain and enlighten, rather than
obscure and confuse, or just make money for the few.

Classification is not mystification

A few years ago I realised that the world of information workers is made up of'scanners' and
'proof-readers'. The 'proof-readers' worry about 'correct' spelling and grammar, the exact
nuances of getting classification points correct, and so forth. The 'scanner', on the other hand,
looks at the over-view, and worries more about the information content - rather than the
details of presentation.

Both of these types are needed within the information world, but it must remembered that the
end-user Is whom we are working for. The end-user may he highly educated and able to deal
with or need the exact nuances of classification, but most end-users are not academics and
need the simplified methods of presentation which are available.

For example, we should be able to give an exact classification number in our work, but the end
-user might find anything over a four digit number just too complex to comprehend. The

current decline in both literacy and educational standards has also had some other specific

effects. Thus as librarians we might have to say something like ".end bay, third shelf down

, to the left, stop", rather than give a classification number to the end-user. This all goes to
illustrate just how much layout and information content should be regarded as of equal
importance.

I would maintain that information and bibliographical work is as much of an art form, as it is a
science.

What applies to the information worker and librarian can and does also apply to other forms of
information activity as well. My list would include cartographers, post office workers, and
timetable compilers. Just look at a map, any post office directory, or the railway timetable,
and you will see what I mean.

In Summary

We should never forget that the message is the important thing and our job as information
workers is to aid the messenger. As radical information workers, while we should always
make sure that the correct information is being given, there are other concerns that we should
also take into account. Making sure that the information is catalogued or listed is only one
part of our job. We should also make sure that the information is presented in the right
language and format as well.

Martyn Lowe

References

(1) There are many local variants of the Universal Dewey Classification system.

(2) A good working knowledge of telephone and post / zip codies is very important in terms
of International work. The Housmans Peace Directory being a fine example of such a
directory (available from 5 Caledonian Road, London Nl).

(3) And that really is being very polite about managers and management ideas.

(4) To take just a few examples of this intellectual property phenomena

(5) Don't just take my word - go look at the figures for yourself or better still look at a tabloid
newspaper

(6) Editors and proof readers take note

(7) A 'loveable' television character that is a byword for corrupt trading.

(8) The infamous Kray Twins were particularly vicious criminals that operated during the
1960's

(9) Now there is a good example of the kind of reference book that some of us could use - one
that give the old and new names of cities, towns, and countries.

(10) Grimaldi was a famous clown during the last century who performed within Islington and
and he was a key figure within the history of the Circus.

(11) See : McLuchan, Marshall, The Medium is the Message, Penguin Books, London, 1967.

(12) See : Hollis, Richard, Graphic design - a Concise History, Thames & Hudson, London,
1994.

The American Periodical 'Upper and lower case' which described itself as "the International
Journal of Graphic Design and Digital Media" is also worth reading within this context..

Public Library Journal on ISC

It is always good to see the appearance of a new journal that challenges the majority viewpoint
(they used to be called the 'alternative press' but even that identity is denied in today's babel).

It is right that our own profession should be 'promoting alternatives to mainstream library and
information provision', providing a 'forum for the exchange of radical views on library and
information issues' and challenging 'the dominant paradigms of library and information work'
(aims of the journal p. 34). The editing and production of each issue is to change. That is a
good idea and should ensure that the journal does not become a victim of one paradigm of its
own. How does it work out ? Tales of librarians' control masquerading as a response to
defacement by patrons, the library equivalent of tomb robbing as a public library's rare books
are sold off, a call for an alternative conference on Cuba, and the illusion of emerging
democracy amid the civil wars, corruption and violence of the African continent, (nothing on
Britain - yet). There is some meat here, but it lacks focus. The almost inevitable polemic,
contrary facts and anecdote require also the rigour that should underpin any work from a
profession that stands for the power of information in a manipulative world. Librarians would
be advised not to attempt yet one more view of the world. A model to follow is the report of
the still much missed Counter Information Services of London. Information is the process of
social change, not simply a commodity within it. The issue now is not so much as who
controls information, but the enormity of the task facing anyone who wants to know anything.
There is so much to know, and so many sources of information to use, that it is too easy to
pick the first to hand. Will libraries display this journal?

Fellow Travellers

Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom , 8 Cynthia Street, London, NI 9JF, Telephone
0171 278 4430

The UK's leading pressure group working for a genuinely free and democratic media. The
Campaign produces a newsletter ("Free Press") and advocates the replacement of the Press
Complaints Commission and the Broadcasting Complaints Commission with a statutory based
Media Commission with the power to enforce the Right of Reply

Friends of the Peace Museum . 20 The Drive, Hertford, SGI 4 3DF

This organisation wishes to establish a Museum for Peace which will display in a stimulating
manner the history and artefacts of the inspiring struggle of the anti war movement. It will
promote the vision and practice of non violent conflict management and resolution. It will
seek to portray humanity's search for peace and reflect that spirit of peace in which we all
hope to build the future.

George Padmore Institute. 76 Stroud Green Road, London, N4 3EN, Tel 0171 272 4889

The George Padmore Institute is the name of the New Beacon Educational Trust library,
educational resource and research centre. George Padmore was a leading member of the Pan
African Movement and his books include "Pan Africanism or Communism" and "Africa and
World Peace". The aim of the Trust is the advancement of the public in matters relating to the
political, social and cultural history of persons in the UK of Caribbean, African and Asian
descent. The Institute has an extensive collection of books on this subject and a collection of
over 100 journals.

GreenNet. 23 Bevenden St, London, NI 6BH

GreenNet is a global computer communications network for the environment, peace, human
rights and development. "Information is power. Much of the information revolution grew in
the womb of the military and the multinationals. It is time to take it into the hands and homes
of the people and to make it very accessible to those working to improve the world.

GreenNet deserves to succeed" (Peter Gabriel).

Institute for African Alternatives (IFAA), 4th Floor Sable Centre, 41 De Korte Street.
Braamfontein 2001, Johannesburg, South Africa

IFAA was established in 1986 in response to the all encompassing African crisis. IFAA is a
network institute for policy research on Alternative Strategies for the continent with links to
NGOs and grassroots organisations.

J.D.Bernal Peace Collection , the Marx Memorial Library, Clerkenwell Green, London

A library collection devoted to peace and disarmament: books, pamphlets, periodicals,
documents, official statements, conference reports, photographs and press cuttings from all
over the world. Subjects covered include struggles for national liberation and anti war
movements.

Labour Action for Peace . 3 7 Hollingworth Road, Orpington, Kent, BR5 I AQ, Telephone
0181 467 5367

An organisation of Labour Party members working for peace, socialism and disarmament and
seeking to keep these issues to the forefront of Labour Party Policy. LAP publishes a regular
newsletter and organises conferences and fringe meetings at labour movement events.

Latin America Information Centre . PO Box 24, Manchester, M7 OEX

LAIC provides a news service (comprehensive coverage of all countries in the region) .,
research facilities (via an extensive library covering current affairs in Latin America); travel
information and budget flights ; goods for sale (crafts, books, maps and other publications).

EIDOS on ISC

Information For Social Change is an activist organization that examines issues of censorship,
freedom and ethics amongst library and information workers. It is committed to promoting
alternatives to the dominant paradigms of library and information work and publishes its own
journal "Information For Social Change" (ISC). This edition of ISC "looks at censorship and
freedom of information which are both sides of the same coin." The keynote article is by Chris
Atton, entitled "The news that doesn't make the news: sources for alternative current affairs

reporting.", The article includes a complete listing of references, and alternative resources

(periodicals, books, pamphlets, publishers) that are mentioned in the text. It is an excerpt
from a chapter in Atton's new book Alternative Literature: A Practical Guide For Librarians,
Gower, 1996. Other important articles include: "The Struggle For Information in South
Africa", which asserts that "the government has no commitment to the concept..." ; "A Star
That Never Sets : The Early Years of the Morning Star Cooperative" which advocates
"...defeating the Tories and electing a Labour government committed to a shift of wealth and
power in favour of working people."; "Pittsburgh Students Protest Censorship" by. protesting
Carnagie Mellons University's decision to ban students from gaining access to certain Internet
news groups that contain materials school officials deemed pornographic ; a report on
Liberty's "Festival of Rights" conference, which covered a plethora of human rights issues
"Some Recent Alternative Publications"; "A Riot To Read" (another annotated listing of still
more sources of alternative perspectives on intellectual/personal freedom, censorship threats,
etc.) Very Highly Recommended.

A Riot to Read

Directory of Progressive Librarians Around the World, edited by Raimund Dehmlow,
Laurentius Publications, Hannover, 1997, ISBN 3931614980

This Directory includes organisations, individuals and projects in nine countries with equal or
different kinds of interests. ISC's Martyn Lowe did a lot of the research into these "critical"
and "alternative" groups. The Directory lists several organisations that ISC is already
networking with : KRIBIBI in Austria ; AKRIBIE in Germany ; LIWO in South Africa;

LINK in the UK ; and the Progressive Librarians Guild in the USA.

In each case a contact name and address is given, followed by a description of what each
group is about and any publications that they produce. Raimund would like to hear from you if
you know of any other individuals or organisations that should be included in future editions
of this Directory. The plan is to publish a second edition in 1998. A site on the Internet is also
being established which will include this Directory. Contact Raimund at Kirchroeder Str. 44H,
D-30625, Hannover.

Counterpoise , edited by Charles Willett, Alternatives in Print Task Force of the Social
Responsibilities Round Table of the American Library Association, USA, 1997, ISSN
10920714

An interview with Charles Willett about Counterpoise appeared in ISC 4. I'm happy to say that
everything Charles promised has been delivered in this Volume 1, Number 1, dated January
1997. The journal has an impressive list of Associate Editors which includes Christopher
Atton from the UK and Sanford Berman.

This well produced issue of 68 pages has a striking cover and six main sections. In his editor's
notes, Charles Willett describes the purpose of Counterpoise, which is to "describe, criticise,
defend and promote" the alternative press. There are a number of features and essays which
include a piece about the indigenous press of Australia and an independent (music) label
profile.

The bulk of the publication is taken up with reviews of alternative resources, both print
(reference, books, pamphlets, magazines) and non - print (videos, CD-ROM). Here you will
find 121 reviews including Berman and Danky's Alternative library literature and Atton's
Alternative literature : a practical guide for librarians. All of the publications mentioned in the
text are indexed by publisher, author / title and subject. To contribute or subscribe write to
1716 SW Williston Rd, Gainnesville, FL 32608-4049, USA.

Some Practical Projects

With this issue we start a new series on the practical problems of information work that are
faced within campaigning bodies. Unlike within big organisations and libraries, campaign
groups tend to have very specific needs, both in the way that they collate their information,
and in how they organise their filing systems. If the structure of the organisation is in any way
complex, then the best way to sort out their information is by creating their own data base
cross- reference system.

An example problem

The International Office of the Peace Brigades Internationals' International Office recently
created such a data base system, which had to both hold references to the origin of the
information, its national bodies, committees, project offices etc., plus human rights and
situations within the countries that it operates inside. The codes used also give a reference to
the place within the office system that the infonnation is stored. Given that a file or document
held by the organisation might have references to any of the above matters, then it was held to
be important that the data base should be coded to show any of the above items mentioned,
and be very easy for any non-information worker to use. What follows is a description of the
structure of the organisation and the data-base cross-reference system that was created.

Peace Brigades International IPBD

PBI sends unarmed peace teams, on request, into areas of violent conflict. These teams aim to
provide a non-partisan Non-violent presence, so that work towards peace and social justice
might occur.

PBI has provided teams in Sri Lanka, Guatemala, Columbia, North America, Central America
and a new one to Haiti. Each of these projects has its own project co-ordinating office. It is
also involved in a joint project, The Balkans Peace Team , together with the War Resisters
International. PBI also has national bodies within such countries as France, Italy, The
Netherlands, Britain, Germany, Canada, and State of Spain. It also has a number of its own
internal committees and international co-ordinating structures. Clearly, as you might imagine,
cross referencing the information that comes into the office from such a complex structure
could be something of a problem to organise.

The solution to this complex structure on a data-base, has been to build codes that use
recognised (international) abbreviations, and others that are used within the organisation. The
most important aspect of the codes used is that they provide an easily understood cross
reference to both subject (issues) and where the material originated. For more information
contact: Peace Brigades International, 5 Caledonian Road, London N.l.